Artist
by radioactive edelweiss
Summary: Fic that spins around the fact that people can be deceiving and friends can turn against you. Various pairings, Tsusoka, a Mary Sue who is to appear later in the story and wont be so terrible...OOCness and a couple of OOCsMisspelling of Tsuzuki's name...
1. Prologue: Nightingale

**Artist**

I've wanted to do this one for quite a while now

This is what I call an 'epic fic': something longer than one-shots and…actually has a plot OMG!

This fic contains:

-OOCness

-OOC's

-A Mary Sue (no worries! She won't make you want to bang your head against the wall in exasperation! I hope)

- A PLOT!!!111oneone

-11 (or so) chapters

Rating is T just in case

* * *

Prologue: Nightingale 

The aged woman closed her eyes. Was it already midnight? The bell told her that someone had entered her shop. She sighed. She wanted to retire, she really did. A PMSy teenager and a weirdo entered her tent. Once again she wondered why in earth she had chosen to be a fortune teller. She could have been a waitress, an artist, anything…even a whore but a fortune teller? In her forty years of indispensable service, she had met so many people; most of them thought she was their personal adviser or something. She had been told about crushes, marriages, divorces, etc etc etc.

She was already beginning to develop a sixth sense that would tell her which sort of reading the clients wanted. Most of them wanted something related to love anyway, the others were just psychos or gamblers, but it was always money or love. Therefore she figured that the weirdo was some sort of pedophile…mainly because of how uncomfortable the other one looked. Poor boy. Had she been in a better mood she could have considered helping.

Her musings were interrupted for the weirdo had asked her to read their fortune. Sure whatever…anything to get you out of my tent.

She arranged the cards in a familiar pattern. The lady had developed her own spread, it was probably never true, but it gave her inspiration about which unlikely story to make up. Whatever. Her eyes widened at the result. How on earth would they believe the story? The weirdo might…but the PMSy teen would probably get really angry…if they paid she had no problem, obviously.

"You see gentlemen, this card over here suggests that you've been dodging death, I must advise you to be cautious. The other card implied that you will have a very violent future…and art is to fear"

Hisoka arched an eyebrow. The woman wasn't making up stories, she really saw that in the cards. Even if the first bit was true…'art is to fear'? Were they going to get smacked with a painting and then kidnapped? He had always known that fortune telling was a fraud, those old women needed money, yeah but…they didn't need to make up stories about evil paintings come to life did they?

Tsusuki was still wide eyed. He was trying to decipher what the woman had said and clearly believed every inch of her 'prophecy'. Idiot…

The old lady smiled, pleased at the result her prediction had on her visitors…on the weirdo at least

His amethyst eyes said that he was deep in thought

"Want me to do a romantic reading too?"

The green eyed teen blushed furiously

"That's it, we're out of here" he grabbed his partner's hand and stormed out of the tent, leaving a couple hundreds yen as a payment.

The old lady sighed and rolled her eyes, youth these days…

Someone rang the bell again

"Come in"

She was clearly annoyed

The man that went in stayed within the shadows

"My little nightingale, you really don't enclose the gift do you?

My little nightingale, what a pity

You should have stopped your song"

Whoever had just slit the old lady's throat was glad that the previous visitors didn't believe her

If they had...he wouldn't succeed.

* * *

The prologue is short, I know

The rest of the story isn't as confusing and vague as this chapter…seeeeeriousely


	2. Ch1: Stay

**Artist**

FINALLY!

After a week or so…im such a lazy ass…or maybe it was just because I couldn't stand up and had to lie in bed all day (hella bawwwwring)…damn surgery…

So, I'm back and will try to update this as much as possible

Vacations are over…meh…I spent most of them in the hospital or doing some medical checkup…gaaaaaaaaah

Laustic: thanks for the review

I'll try to upload more often…even if I have the draft of the whole story sometimes I can't help to write short chapters…so I'm doing my best to make them a little longer

n n;;

* * *

Chapter one: Stay

They had been assigned a new case. The husband had been murdered by his wife, who was having an affair with his best friend. His soul didn't want to leave, he still loved the girl. He had possessed her and murdered the best friend. Hisoka closed the file they were given.

"We should get going now, Tatsumi will be otherwise really angry" he sighed

Tsusuki nodded happily "But fiiirst, we should grab something to-"

"We will get some food after, _and just after_, we get this soul to move on"

Tsusuki whined, but agreed

It didn't take them long to locate the building the wife was staying at…it was just a one minute walk from the dark alley to the front door, the advantages of teleporting. She wasn't home, but _he _was.

They had just entered the apartment when they noticed that something wasn't right. It wasn't that most furniture was still packed in boxes, or that crumpled newspapers covered the floor…dyed with a suspicious crimson substance…or maybe that was it. The shinigami could hear the sound of running water. Their major concern was the man sitting next to the window, painting.

"Inoue…Inoue Ren?" Tsusuki broke the silence

The black haired man did a few more strokes on the canvas.

"We have to ask you to move on"

The black haired man turned to look at them. His look was fixed at the door.

"You know you have to, there is a place for you somewhere else…you do not belong here anymore"

The door behind them clicked.

Inoue Ren dived past the shinigami and into the startled redhead.

Said female stretched her neck, moved her shoulders in circles a couple times, joined her arms nehind her back, lifted them as high as she could without untangling her fingers, looked at them, and smiled. She made her way past the shinigami, again, to the corner.

That's when the shinigami noticed that the walls were covered with paintings…beautiful paintings. It was weird because most of the furniture was still packed up and from the information they received she had moved in there a week ago, escaping from the soul of her ex husband. Maybe those paintings were dear for her, loved enough for her to unpack them first, probably even before her bed, table and a few chairs.

Inoue Ren dipped the paintbrush in what were probably watercolors and continued painting.

"You know? I thought that you had forgotten about me…It's been months since I died…and I have no intention of leaving"

With that, she muttered a quick prayer and stood up, again facing the shinigami, her long red bangs fell over his eyes.

Something slowly started emerging from the canvas. The shinigami took their ofudas and were ready to use them when a mighty looking stick figure came into view. They sweatdropped. The stick figure roared. Inoue sweatdropped.

"I should have given him a katana, right?" Inoue Ren did a stroke in the canvas. Suddenly, the stick figure was wielding a…stick…and dangerously advancing towards them. They felt like sweatdropping

"So we were attacked by art after all" Tsusuki muttered, about to pull the 'fuda from his pocket

"Coincidence"

"ARRR ARRRR NYAHNYAHNYAH" the stick figure jumped and hit Tsusuki with the…stick. Hisoka sighed, rolled his eyes and lifted it from the rough top of the circle that was supposed to be its head. It dropped its stick sword and tried to reach Hisoka with its little flailing stick arms, however, it didn't succeed.

Tsusuki rubbed his head. "Owie"

"She did all the art, I'm no Picasso" Ren laughed softly.

The stick figure somehow bit Hisoka, who let him loose. It resumed hitting Tsusuki wherever he could.

"I'll deal with Inoue-san from this point…you two get the rest of the day off"

The shinigami turned to find Tatsumi. His eyes practically morphed into dollar signs.

Inoue Ren called the stick figure back, who took his 'katana' and obediently went back into the canvas.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

A bruised Tsusuki and an annoyed Hisoka closed the door behind them.

The violet eyed shinigami was still rubbing his head.

"Drop it"

"But…but…it HURTS!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes.

"Soooooo…can we get something to eat?"

"I have no money on me"

"Soka chan you are so mean!"

-Veevee

* * *

finally finished the first chapter!

now prolly it will be easier to write the rest

prolly not

meh...

review?


	3. Ch2: Ralphie

**Artist**

I suppose I'll be updating once a week

Gah…I still have cut/paste/arrange/rip/glue/decide it's not right and rip again/etc the lil paper chromosomes into the right karyotype

GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH

And math homework….damn

**Laustic: I'm glad you enjoyed it**

**The previous chapter was my favourite draft…this one's a bit lame but necessary for the storyline…mehs**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ren (::heart::) …and the plot**

* * *

Chapter two: Ralphie 

'_knock knock'_

Hisoka swallowed what was left of his coffee

'_knock knock'_

He made his way to the door, slowly, wondering who would pick the exact moment when he was taking breakfast to pay him a visit.

Maybe it was the fact that he was still sleepy, or he was just too lost in his musings, but alas! he didn't check who was the early visitor before opening wide the door.

And the first thing said visitor did was pounce on him

"HISOKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" said teen fell backwards

"TSUSUKI! Get off…NOW!"

Tsusuki was oblivious to his anger. "I brought muffins!" he pressed one to the teen's mouth as if expecting him to eat it all in one bite.

Hisoka rolled his eyes, pulled his head away from the muffin, pushed the other shinigami off him, stood up, and unwrinkled/cleaned his clothing.

"You know? I was actually planning to go to work now"

Tsusuki pouted "But…but…but…these muffins have just been baked! I even slept outside the bakery to get them for yoou! Please Hisokaa!" his big shiny amethyst eyes stared at him pleadingly.

"You know that I don't like sweets-" Tsusuki's eyes widened even more "-fine…just one…but we'll go to work after that!"

* * *

Somehow one muffin had turned into two, and those two into three, and by the time Hisoka had convinced Tsusuki that he had taken a breakfast it was already past the hour when they should be at work or face the consequences…late for the teen and any other normal person at least, not for Tsusuki…

* * *

The first thing they noticed after arriving at JuOhCho was the ever-present nothingness…more like no oneness… 

The deathly silence was interrupted by loud talking.

The shinigami followed the voices and soon discovered the whereabouts of basically the whole office.

Naturally, Tatsumi yelled at them, chief Konoe was angry, yadda yadda yadda

After asking why were they late, again, and receiving a full explanation by Tsusuki, did they discover the reason for the meeting.

Actually the reason tapped their backs and made them turn their heads

"I believe you've already met each other, Tsusuki-san…Kurosaki-kun" he pointed at the door "this is Inoue-san"

"Ren" the black haired man corrected

"He's going to be helping us for some months and if it goes well…he will receive a permanent job here so…you don't mind training (taking care of him), would you?" Tatsumi gave them a look that threatened their pay checks.

They shook their heads

"Good"

* * *

A new desk had been quickly added to their office. By noon the empath and the new shinigami were filling out paperwork, Tsusuki was daydreaming, and the stick figure (Ralphie) was jumping around. 

Ralphie walked up to Tsusuki curiously, the man was just staring into space. Ralphie McStick decided he should do something about it. He moved his arm backwards and carefully, warily, poked him.

* * *

How easy can it be to work with a restless Ralphie running around? 

Not easy, not at all

Specially when Ralphie puls your hair or bites your ankles

Nope, not easy

* * *

After seemingly hours of endless work the work hours were over. Tsusuki and Hisoka left the office, Ren stayed because he 'wanted to do some more work'. 

The empath could sense an aura of sadness around him. Ren knew about his empathy but didn't know how to control his shields. He just gave the teen a pleading look, hoping that he would stay silent.

* * *

"Ralphie was so mean to me today!" Tsusuki complained "He resumed beating me with his sticky katana!" 

They stoped walking for they had reached Hisoka's house

"Would you kiss it better?" Tsusuki smiled a cheesy smile

Against all odds, his partner did.

It was more like placing his cheek against the other's and kissing the air, Tsusuki remained frozen on the spot anyway

"Goodnight Tsusuki" Hisoka waved at him before closing the door

* * *

UUGGGHHHH 

I don't like this chapter

Or the OOCness that it involved

The next one will be another plot-building chapter

I hate plot building chapters…

-Vivi

ps: i'm such a br tag whore...


	4. Ch3: Forlorn

**Artist**

**Author's note: I still can't believe the cathedral is gone! I'm referring to the rock formation…rock formation…do those words even go together?**

**If you don't know what do I mean, google "la catedral paracas"**

**It was so pretty…**

**I feel terrible about the people who died…my uncle was there a week ago, the hotel where he stayed, the church he and little cousin visited, the Italian restaurant, everything is gone**

**It's amazing how life can change so abruptly…**

**-----**

**Laustic::agrees::**

**Disclaimer: YnM isn't mine…if it was I wouldn't have problems with OOCness**

**((oh by the way: " " dialogue, ' ' thought))**

* * *

'What is happening to me?' Tsusuki stayed outside, staring at Hisoka's door, his hand over his cheek.

'What is happening to me?' Hisoka peered at his partner from behind the safety of a gap between his closed curtains.

'What is happening to me?' back at the office, Ren hid his head in his folded arms.

* * *

Chapter three: Forlorn

"Do you think he's dead?"

"He's aslee-"

"REENNNNN" Tsusuki shook violently the man who was sleeping over the desk

"UGH? WHAT?" Ren jumped from his chair

Hisoka softly hit Tsusuki "I told you he was asleep"

Tsusuki laughed nervously, Ren just stared at him, dislike obvious in his eyes.

* * *

"What are we doing here again?"

"If you didn't pay attention during the meeting, we're on a mission"

"A meeshun?"

"Yeah…someone thinks it is funny to murder random people"

"And so?"

Ren snatched the case file from Hisoka's hands and thrust it into Tsusuki's. "Read it for yourself"

The black haired man was oblivious to the teen's anger

"The…eer…soh..ools…ne…vuhr…appeared in…Meifu"

"That still doesn't explain your anger"

"That's none of your business" with that, Ren turned around and left to their room.

"That still doesn't explain why we are staying in such a luxurious hotel"

"The victims worked here so…Tatsumi got us a reservation here"

Tsusuki looked around…twasn't that bad…he could get used to it

* * *

"Eh…guys?"

Ren's partners/babysitters looked behind them to find a heavily blushing Ren

"Eh…I'm sorry…for what I said earlier today"

"Don't worry…it's okay"

"You know? I was asking a waitress at the bar about these murders…just to see if she knew anything and…there was this creepy guy who kept on saying that those were the fruit of dark magic and some sort of curse and I was wondering if those are real methods to steal a soul because this guy was really creepy but I think that he might know more and I think that we should go interview him and-"

"What was 'this guy''s name?"

"Eh…it was a funny name…it rhymed with acid…acid…eh…muriatic acid! Yupyup" Ren nodded his head quickly

The partners/babysitters exchanged looks.

* * *

It took them quite a while to explain the whole story about 'this guy' to Ren

They had chosen a safe place for storytelling, just in case

A safe place being the room they were staying in, Ralphie making sure there was no one outside with the help of the keyhole.

After storytelling and eating (duh) and making some research on the hotel due to Hisoka's insistence, they decided it was time 'to go to beddies'

The only problem about 'going to beddies' was that it wasn't 'beddies' but 'beddie'

Apparently, Tatsumi believed that a luxurious hotel made up for the lack of individual beds…greedy person

"Uhs…I'll take the couch…g'night!" Ren put his bags over said piece of furniture and left to the bathroom.

"You take the bed…I can sleep on the floor" Tsusuki offered

"You take it"

"You take it"

"You take it"

"You take it"

Ren had brushed his teeth, taken a quick bath, clothed himself, and emerged from the tub drying his hair, and the pair hadn't stopped the polite argument about who should take the bed.

Ren sighed, rolled his eyes, stretched himself, muttered a few encouragement words for himself and ran in his partners' direction, passing just between them and jumping onto the bed.

"I'll take it then"

The shinigami stared at him

He wouldn't move

Dammit

"Er..i suppose you could then take the couch"

"I disagree, you take it"

Their argument was stopped by heavy snoring coming from the couch's direction.

"Ralphie!"

Ralphie growled

After deciding that recovering the couch from Ralphie was a lost cause, the shinigami settled down on the floor, having stolen a few blankets from the stick figure.

* * *

Two hours after the epic battle with Ralphie about the possession of the couch, Tsusuki wondered how on earth Hisoka could sleep under the window and on such a cold floor. He himself was shivering so badly…

Curiosity got the best of him and he slowly walked to the other end of the room

That's when he noticed that his partner was shivering as well

The elder shinigami smiled to himself as he wrapped arm around his partner's shoulders

The sleeping teen just leaned into the embrace

He would get so scolded the next day…oh so scolded…but it was worth it

* * *

**uuuggghh**

**I just can't write a decent angsty chapter!**

**::headdesk::**

**I'll try to write the chapter I need to write the next time so I can already move onnnnn**

**I've been like…stuck here for so long**

**And I wanna introduce mary sue dammit!**

**The next chapter should explain why am I writing these 'weird' chapters**

**I tend to be a bit more descriptive…you know?**

**You could try to guess the chapter's name**

**-vivi**


	5. Ch4: Awakening

**Artist**

**This chapter is a bit weird, fun to write nonetheless**

**The (half) explanation for the weirdness is at the end, the rest will be explained later**

**Laustic :3...fankyou**

**I shall write more in the future…this chapter is a bit creepy n n'**

Disclaimer: 'it's not mine, it's not mine and you know it'

_--to my non-boyfriend, twin soul/best guy friend, and Lucía ( xD ) --_

* * *

Chapter four: Awakening 

Ren chose to stay invisible.

Judging by the clumsy way in which Maeko moved and the fact that she frequently looked over her shoulder, she could sense him.

The woman was sitting on the dusty couch, legs huddled to her chest. She was shivering softly, the corners of her lips slightly twitching, eyes trying to stay focused on the tv.

Ren felt bad for her. He still loved her…dearly.

"Mae…ko"

"You?!" The redhead jumped from the couch in a single cat-like move.

"I just wanted to tell you that…no matter what you did…I-"

"Aw noes…feeling corny again? No matter what you say, no matter if you are dead or alive…get out of my sight" She leant on the opposite wall, letting out a soft chuckle "You're dead…you're dead and you know it…you're dead and I killed you…so finish me off already, but…stop haunting me" The last part was almost a plea, she made a mental note not to weep her dead lover's death while threatening her ex husband

"What are you talking about? I died in an acci-"

"Just…go back where you came from because…because I don't need you anymore…because I hate you…you have to move on" Tears were flowing freely from her eyes now "for me…for…us?"

"Maeko I-"

"GET OUT" okay now…her voice was chirpy and high pitched…great

"Mommy, what…who are you talking to?"

Maeko fell to her knees, the short blonde behind her

"Mommy? I'm scared"

"What the…" Ren's eyes went from the little blonde to the red head.

Maeko giggled softly, it soon turned into maniacal laughter

"Didn't you notice it? Didn't you ever see that I was pregnant?"

"Mommy!"

"She's not your daughter" Her voice had regained that cruel tone it had earlier, she couldn't help the grin plastered on her face

"Mommy please stop it"

"Oh, shut up Dalishya! Don't ruin my fun!"

* * *

Ren had returned to the luxurious hotel where his partners and himself were staying. He couldn't take the image of the little blonde from his head. 

…'She is not your daughter'

He hadn't visited them since…since he had become a shinigami…roughly five years ago

Maeko's words ran through his mind…she…she had killed him?

No…it did not make sense…she loved him…right

…Right?

Then…who was the girlie's father?

…Yuki?

No way…Yuki was dead…he had killed himself

…Had he?

Then again…if Yuki had not killed himself…who…?

Ren gasped, his brown eyes widened as he stared into the darkness

* * *

The curtains were wide open. That meant that the sunlight would travel right to his face and onto his eyes…which it did…such a nice way of waking up. 

The black haired man scanned his surroundings. Everything had changed from one day to the other…or so it seemed. It was right now that he noticed the embroidery in the prussian blue bedcovers…and the paisley design on the pillowcase...and the fact that the whole room was decorated with different shades of silver and blue…why didn't he notice it before?

His look travelled south from the soft grey walls, right onto the couple huddling below the window. Luckily for them, the wall had been kind enough to hide them from the sunlight.

"So sweet…I feel the diabetic attack coming…"

* * *

'What the…?' 

Ren pressed himself to the wall, trying to get as far as he could from whatever was going on.

The way Hisoka hugged himself, standing, having cast a protective spell around them…

What had happened?

He…he didn't remember

The last thing he recalled was Maeko hitting him with a steel chair…ugghh…bitch

And then…darkness

And then…the cold stone floor, wooden walls and

Evil

Pure evil

That's why the empath was hugging himself

And…Tsusuki?

Fighting?

So then the teen was given the task to guard him?

He wouldn't mind dieing in battle

After what Maeko…_darkness_

* * *

Blink 

Bat eyelashes

Blink

Chains

Cold steel binding his wrists together

"Oh…hello Ren"

Eh?

Green eyes

Ah

"Hey…"

Silence

"So…where's Tsusuki?"

The teen looked away

"So…where are we?"

"Still at the warehouse"

"Chained?"

"Yeah…"

"With…chains?"

"Uhuh"

"Courtesy of…the creepy guy?"

"Yes Ren…yes!"

"Oh kay!"

Silence

"And…how did we get here?"

Silence

It seemed Hisoka wasn't in a chatty mood

And…what was the problem with his memory?

He couldn't fill in gaps…he didn't remember frames of time

And…his partners never mentioned having to carry around a fainted Ren so…why-

* * *

Chuckle 

ChuckleGiggle

ChuckleGiggleSnort

ChuckleGiggleSnortLaughter

"Ren…you're scaring me…"

Laughter

"Ren?"

Laughter

'RE-EN!'

Silence

Light

A feminine figure walked in

She was carrying someone

Then, again, darkness

* * *

_Hmms…writing this chappy was fun_

_Last Ren-centric chapter, I promise!_

_As you may have noticed by now…I never specified time frames between the bars/br lines I'm so fond of…_

_Just in case you got lost; prologue,Ch1,2 and 3 took place 'five years ago'_

_The bars/br lines in this chapter usually mean 'periods' of time for Ren_

_And that's all…before I ruin my plotline_

_Psst…remember:_

" "_ dialogue; ' ' thoughts_

_-Vivi_

_ps: pfft...if you read asomething like WA-AH! it means WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH...same applies to earlier chapters...meh...i jsut noticed that fanfiction dot net doesnt allow the 'alt gr+4' swirley hyphen whose name i don't know/remember_


	6. Ch5: Me wuffs you

**Artist**

**This is a really OOC chapter…I wanted to speed things up a bit**

**But…it was fun to write**

**So tell me if you like it, will you?**

**Plis?**

**Laustic: ****fankyou!**

**I dedicate this chapter to Laustic for being my most beloved reviewer and an exceptionally talented writer**

Disclaimer: YnM ain't mine

* * *

Chapter five: Me wuffs you

Someone groaned

"What happened to them?"

Silence

"So did they just like…show up in a pitiable state inside a warehouse?"

"Yes and…no. The girl who found them is currently been tested for-"

"Is Tsusuki okay?"

"My God! You only care for him do you?"

"No…I mean…he doesn't look we-"

"TSUSUKI"

Hisoka practically jumped from his bed as he remembered his first priority, the second one being not strangling himself with the many tubes and syringes attached to his skin. He let himself sink back into the mattress…'mattress'…if the hard steel was considered to be a mattress…

"Eh…sorry bon…we only had one bed available"

That's when the blonde noticed that his partner had been pushed between him and the wall.

Said partner was definitely not looking healthy.

His arms were wrapped with bandages, most of the skin covering his bare shoulders and upper back seemed to have been either ripped off in one way or the other or burnt, there were some places where his healing powers had begun working, blackened skin delicately shifting to a sore, angry red color.

He was still alive, though. Hisoka let go a soft sigh in relief.

The teen slowly moved his hand to his partner's bandages, pulling it back after softly brushing the binds.

'Oh god…Tsusuki…'

"Eh…bon…aren't you wondering how your other partner's doing?"

Hisoka blushed "Ah yes…Ren", he began, trying to cover up for having forgotten "How is he…doing?", he faked concern

"Oh, he's doing fine, you did a nice shield spell there"

Hisoka sighed…if he had only been able to protect…woah woah woah…stop right there…what did he mean by 'if he had only been able to protect…' ?

Hisoka blushed

"Hey guys, I brought pancakes"

Sing song voice.

Ohs…it was the Ren guy himself…what a nice surpise…itwashisfaultTsusukiwassufferingsomuchdammit

And

He…had he tried to kill him?

It wasn't a dream then

Hisoka took his hands to his neck…it hurt...

"Earth Hisoka? I just asked you if you wanted your pancakes with maple syrup"

"Uh…oh…umm…no thanks"

The teen's glance fell to the floor.

This Ren was so different from the Ren that had pounced on him and tried to suffocate him.

"No thanks what?" he lifted Hisoka's head

"No pancakes"

Ren tilted his head to the side and finally left, after having stared into Hisoka's green eyes for a long time

It had been a dream then…just a dream

'I wish _he_ woke up…_he_'d be able to give me some advice'

Someone was pulling his arm.

"Ralphie…I don't wanna play"

"Ralphie?" Tsusuki pouted "Ren went that way and the pancakes went that way and they are so yummy and I want-"

"Baka…you can barely move…so shuddup and sleep"

"…Meanie…"

Watari giggled softly, they looked so cute laying together like that…he was sure they were really uncomfortable…but…who cares?

* * *

"So…how are you now?"

"Uhm…a bit hungry…would you-"

"Steal a donut from the chief's office for you? No"

"But-!"

"No"

Tsusuki sniffled

* * *

It had been two days since the incident.

They now knew, thanks to Tsusuki and Hisoka, that Muraki had been the one behind those crimes, that he had tried to kidnap Tsusuki and that he had been gravely injured by a mysterious female saviour.

Ren didn't contribute anything to the story, the only comment that he made was "Yes, we were chained as in 'with chains' " as the teen retold the aftermath of the shield charm's rupture.

The team concluded that Muraki was just damning others for the sake of ruining their lives, 'they' being the casualties and the shinigami.

After such a tough week, the shinigami had decided to have a small party, to 'loosen up a bit', quoting Watari. Everyone but Hisoka and Ren had already gathered in the cafeteria.

"Hisoka?"

"Yes, Ren?"

"When did it break?"

"When did_ what_ break?"

"When did the shield break?"

"During the fight…you were there, don't you remember? I passed out right afterwards"

Silence

"Hisoka?"

"Yes. Ren"

"_Why_ did it break?"

"Oh…it's just that…I…"

There was no easy way of saying it

He knew what had caused it to break

He knew exactly what it was

Since Tsusuki had asked him not to fight by his side but to guard Ren, he had grown nervous

He had been shaking as his partner fought his murderer, hugging himself had been his only comfort

And until then he had had the energy to keep the shield up…

Until the doctor's scorching blast spell hit his partner in a fatal way…then he passed out

Admitting that…would that be admitting his feelings for-

"Earth Hisoka?"

"Oh…eh…I had lost my concentration…that's why it broke"

Hisoka turned around and left the office before Ren had a chance to ask another question.

He didn't notice the smirk curling on the man's lips.

* * *

It was already midnight

And half of the male shinigami who were still at the party were…heavily drunk

After all…alcohol washes away stress, right?...right?

They believed it did

Making a…not so wild guess, it was Tsusuki's seventh shot and Watari's fifth, neither the girls nor Ren or Terazuma(who was currently smoking) were drinking(anymore)

"I've had it with you!"

The latter stormed out, Wakaba following him angrily for having ruined her fun

That made it…_most_ of the male shinigami staying at the party were heavily drunk

Ren was still staring out of the window, watching the beautiful shimmering moon.

Saya and Yuma decided to leave as well

Ren hoped he could leave soon

"Saaay…Tsusuki"

"Yeaaah?"

"Kiss Hisoka-chan and I'll give you a muffin"

"Ohkay"

"What the hell?!" Ren jumped form the table. He shook his head "Do yourselves a favour and decide when or when not to kiss Hisoka while SOBER" He grabbed the back of his head,sighed, felt self pity for having such co-workers, and added "Imma sleep, G'night!" He lazily waved (more like lifted his hand a bit and dropped it) and almost knocked down Hisoka in his way out.

"Sorry" 'Poor poor kid…'

Ren shook his head yet again, feeling bad for the unsuspecting teen

"HISOKA-CHAAAAAAAN"

Ren smirked

He chucked

He snorted

He giggled

He laughed

And he almost fell down the stairs

But that didn't matter

…It was going to be so much fun…oh so much fun…and he could barely wait…_barely_

* * *

Oh goshies!

1,1k+ words!

::dies::

pfft...I don't like this chapter mushies

meh

The next chapter will be the angst…sorta

I hope

Because I suck at angsty chapters

Wanna read the list of things I suck at?

Visit my profile

-Vivi


	7. Ch6: Lipstick

**Artist**

**Imma love to write this…**

**Laustic: ****Aww…heh…thank you so much**

**Pfft…I haven't read the manga yet**

'**Can't find it anywhere ::tear::**

Disclaimer: YnM is oh-so-not mine

Warning: OOC…sorta

* * *

**Chapter five: Lipstick**

Someone opened the door

"Oh…hi Ren…whatdya doing?"

"Trying to draw" he took the paper below the one he was drawing on to show it to the teen: stick people.

"Ah…eh…have you seen Tsusuki?"

"Erm…I think he went that way"

He pointed at his_ right_

"Oh great…thanks!"

Hisoka went _left_

Ren sighed and resumed doodling.

It would be minutes until the teen and the shinigami he was clearly trying to avoid would be reunited in the same office…and it wasn't fate, no…it was the power of Tatsumi's threats

Ren scribbled something on a sheet of paper.

Ralphie popped his head next to Tsusuki's desk

"Hewwo Tsusuki!" Ralphie stared at him with his long stick-ey eyes

"Oh…hello!" the man smiled "I didn't know that you could talk"

"Hewwo Tsusuki!"

Tsusuki waved

"HewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusukihewwoTsusuki"

"Eh…someone…help…?" said shinigami sweatdropped

On the neighbouring desk, Ren was erasing something.

Thirty minutes went by

Ralphie popped from under Tsusuki's desk with a Gir-like head, running around in circles in front of the door.

Ren chuckled softly.

He laid down the pen, having given in to hunger "Imma out for a bite…want anything?"

Silence

Uh oh…

"I said 'Imma out for a bite, WANT ANYTHING?'"

Silence

Ren poked Tsusuki

"Oh…er…cupcakes?"

"Kay"

"Ren...?"

"Eh…?"

"You smell like lipstick"

"It's lip balm, dammit…It's not my fault if my lips are dry"

It had been barely two minutes since Ren left that Tatsumi asked them to go to his office "immediately"

So they had

And they found out that the entire population of JuOhCho had been crammed inside that office.

The entire population of JuOhCho and a new girl, standing next to Tatsumi

"Where's Ren"

"Out for a bite" quoted Tsusuki

"Okay…er…to make this brief (because time lost is money lost, coughcough) this girl was the one who saved your lives" he glanced at the two standing by the door "and who is, as of today, a shinigami"

The red/blond streaked, blue haired, hazel eyed girlie beamed "Hai! I'm Marie-Anne Thérèse des Anges Sophie Princesse von Schönhausen Suzanne…but you can just call me Mary Sooooo" she spoke in a sing song voice…much like a little kiddie introducing herself.

"Hello Mary Sue!" the entire population of JuOhCho answered

Mary Sue beamed again.

"Enough introductions already, Mary Sue-chan will be Inoue-san's partner, he should have already learnt something by now-"

"What?" Hisoka spoke for the first time in ages "You mean…I will be left alone with Tsusuki? No.way.in.hell."

"But Soka-chaaaan!"

Hisoka gave his partner/ex partner a death glare

"Okay whatever, just cut it off already 'cause we're wasting time… Hisoka, you are Mary Sue-chan's partner as of today, we will get you a new office…Tsusuki will stay with Ren then…everyone's dismissed…common…moving!"

"But…but" Tsusuki went into chibi puppy mode "I can't be separated form my Soka-chan because I wuff him! I don't even know why he's no mad at meeee" Tsusuki shook Tatsumi

"Oh believe me…you just were" Hisoka's voice had an unusual cold tone. He then, left.

"'Soka…" Tsusuki ran after the teen and out of the door

Tatsumi and Watari were left alone, after being sweeped away by a threatening glare form the former

"Mary Sue-_chan_ huh?" Watari narrowed his eyes "And why did you agree to separate them? You know that Hisoka's anger will eventually fade…I knew that you were jealous of Hisoka's bond with Tsusuki but this is ridiculous"

"It's none of your business"

* * *

'Why did I say that?...why did I ask to be separated from my friend…friend…he was my friend…right? After what happened yesterday…but…it was only a kiss…why am I so unreasonably mad at him anyway?...I liked it…the kiss…-' Someone pounced on Hisoka from behind 

"SOKACHAAAAN"

"UGH…knock it off already! Go find your partner" Hisoka snaked free from under Tsusuki and left angrily…Pfft…he'd have to learn to control his temper if he didn't wish to hurt his…friend…worse.

* * *

Tsusuki had been angsting for quite a long while when Ren arrived. 

Ren patted the older shinigami softly on the back before resuming paperwork

The sweets he had brought didn't cheer up the latter, not even a bit.

* * *

Hisoka sat on his new desk, his feet hanging off the edge and softly tapping the wood. 

He shouldn't have done it

He was completely sure that Tsusuki hated him now for abandoning him but…he couldn't risk falling in love…not now

* * *

Did I trick you into believing this was not the Mary Sue chapter when Ren announced that the chapter was named so for he wore lip balm? 

xD

Pfft…I hate being so mean…let's see now if I can write some decent angst…

Which is highly unlikely

Let's just see

...uuugghhh…my poor characterization is evolving into even poorer characterization! D:

-Viv

In case you were wondering about her name…her last name was not mentioned.

Des Anges: roughly "belonging to angels" in a mix of german and French…'des' is supposed to be pronounced 'dehs', 'anges' is 'ahn yuh' (roughly), if the liason is made it would sound as 'des singes', and that means 'belonging to the monkeys' xD

Princesse: she'd wish she was a princess! Sadly for her, it's only another name of her's

Schönhausen: pretty houses…? My german is so broken…

It's a…district? Region? I'm too busy finishing my report to look for it in Wikipedia…I just know it's in Germany and Otto von Bismarck was born there…

'Von' would add a bit of 'royal' feel to her name…she'd wish she was part of the Shönhausen royalty

Marie(…)Suzanne: Mary Sue…again, a non-english feel to the name

Marie(…)Thérèse: she'd wish she was Maria Theresa

Anne: I wanted the name to be longer xD

Sophie: read above

Read the whole name out loud (and fast) pronouncing correctly…it sounds funny xD

(Roughly 'Mah-ree-ahn theh-reh-ss deh-sah-nyuh saw-phee prahn-sehss fawn shyuhn-hah-oo-sehn soo-sah-nn' ; the hyphens represent 'syllables'…hah…I love writing in that way…)


	8. Ch7: Candles

**Artist**

**I've got the flu**

**Uuuuggggghhhhhh**

**::zombie groan::**

Disclaimer: all your base may belong to us….but YnM does-sadly-not

_-to buchouslvr(whose review cheered up my Friday), Soulreceiver, Laustic (I wouldn't dare to forget) and anyone else who has taken the pain to read my stories…thank you!-_

* * *

Chapter seven: Candles 

_Lips against lips, lightly brushing each other in a soft but t__ender kiss. His hands cupping my face…lovingly…softly. Heart…so angrily beating it felt as if my ribcage would break. Then, emotions…warmth…so satisfying…I can't tell…I won't tell_

_And the remembrance of the blood red moon…sakura petal rain…no…please don't…don't make me remember_

_I__ run away_

Someone shook him rather violently, ripping him away from the pillow he was clinging to

"Bon…are you okay?"

He let himself fall again into the hard infirmary bed "…Yes…" The teen sat and slowly slid off the bed, picking his jacket from the chair beside it, preparing to leave "…Watari?...how many more can I take before the effect is…permanent?"

"You mean…you really want to get rid of it?...I'd say…ten more pills but…Bon…are you sure?"

Silence

"What were you dreaming about anyway? Your heartbeat rose so-" He pointed to the heart-beat monitor

"Noneofyoubusiness, Watari…why would certain emotions filter through the pill's effect?"

"That's…basically impossible…only the fiercest…ooh…Bonnn" he nudged the teen "Is there something you haven't told mee? Possible involving a certain shinigami…" he added

Hisoka blushed

"They say curiosity killed the cat" the teen stared threateningly at him

"But I'm no cat!" the scientist grinned

"They will say, in a nearby future, that curiosity killed the scientist"

* * *

Ralphie was dancing a stick-ey dance around the office. 

His ungraceful moves were so because he, being a stick figure, had no joints

Ren giggled softly, petted his pet, and left the office

Ralphie was virtually alone, now: Tsusuki was too deep in thought to be counted as company.

So Ralphie did something that every good stick figure does when their masters leave

He continued his dance, of course!

* * *

Hisoka returned to his new office. 

It was bigger than the other one

Much much bigger

And it was much more illuminated

Maybe because of the giant windows on the back wall

Speaking about

The view of the Zen garden was magnificent

Why, again, did they have such an office?

Maybe because Tatsumi had been in a good mood since the Mary Sue girl joined

He couldn't say the same about Watari

Well…there was something about her that reminded him of his ex-partner

Hisoka walked to the window and stared down

He could see a mass of grey, pebbles forming ripples around the bigger stones

And then

Someone knocked him off his feet

"GAAAAH TSUSUKI! I mean, Mary Sue-san…please don't do that when I'm so close to a window…preferably, don't do that anymore"

Mary Sue sniffled

She rose to her feet and pulled her partner from the floor

"Lookie…I got a Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt!"

She pointed at her teal, sponge bob square pants tee

"Good for you…listen…I'm going out for a walk…can you do the paperwork!"

"Yessir!" She did an army salute and marched to the other side of the office

Hisoka could get used to it, she was as lively as his ex-partner and did her chores so…why not?

Speaking about said ex-partner…he had to apologize.

* * *

Ren stood behind the door that separated Tatsumi's office from the hallway 

He could hear people yelling inside

He closed his eyes and pressed his ear against the wood

"_-obviously do!"_

"_NO…listen to me Yutaka…it's not-"_

"_It's not, it's not! The English language's vocabulary consists of more than three words!"_

"_Let me finish, for God's sake!"_

"_Finish? Finish what? You want to have the last word, right? Well…you can't…because you're just lying again!"_

"_But I-"_

The door blasted open, not hard enough to smash Ren into the wall

He _did _hit the side of his head…hard

Watari gave him a murderous glance before walking away, yellow locks following him close behind

Ren smirked softly before clinging to Tatsumi

"He doesn't deserve you" the former whispered into the latter's ear, letting out a soft laugh

* * *

"Ralphie? Can I ask you something?" 

Ralphie stopped his stick-ey dance and walked over to the brunette, his eyes going from two l's to two n's as he nodded his circle-ey head vigorously

"What would you do if Ren got mad at you?"

Ralphie's stick-ey mouth became an upside down smile

"So you know how I feel huh?"

Ralphie hopped on top of the shinigami's desk and sat, his stick-ey legs hanging

"What did I do to 'Soka?"

Ralphie shrugged dramatically

"Yeah…I know…he's just so mean! Now I won't get to see him as often as I did"

Ralphie patted him

"You're such a good friend…" Tsusuki smiled

Ralphie smiled

Ralphie took out his stick-ey katana and hit him on the topmost part of his head

Then, Ralphie resumed his dance

"Why you little…" Tsusuki whined

Ralphie danced just by the door

The door opened

Ralphie's stick-ey body was smashed into the wall

His stick-ey arm was still visible

It was twitching

"…Sorry…"

Hisoka closed again the door

Ralphie fell like a stick figure

…He _was_ a stick figure

Ralphie rubbed his circle-ey head as he shifted his bodyweight from one stick-ey leg to the other

Cartoon-ish lines and stars had appeared across his head to indicate that he felt very dizzy

Hisoka grabbed Ralphie from the center line (which he supposed would be his body), carried him (he didn't weight…at all…it was rather creepy) and laid him horizontally on Ren's desk.

The empath stared sadly at the place where his desk had been…before the move

He was glad to have blocked his empathy…otherwise the sadness that hung in the air would have been worse.

His glance shifted to the silent man in the unlit corner of the office.

"Look…I'm sorry okay? Whatever I did to deserve your indifference, I regret"

"You mean...you don't remember?"

Tsusuki shook his head

"Shame…must have been the alcohol"

Tsusuki began feeling uncomfortable…really uncomfortable

"Nevermind…what's done is done…I suppose we can still be friend, right?"

Tsusuki nodded

Hisoka smiled softly

"Wanna go out for a walk?" The older shinigami glanced at the window, the sun shone with all its glory on that afternoon…such a beautiful day

"Sure"

On the table, Ralphie giggled softly

* * *

"Hello Mary Sue!" 

"HIIIII" Mary Sue jumped up and down, waving at Ren

"What are you doing in a candle shop?"

"Oh…erm…I'm looking for some candles for my house, I'm planning to drag Hisoka into a nice dinner" she winked

"Ah…hey…while you're at it…would you mind searching his wallet for a picture of Tsusuki?

"What makes you think that he has one?" she tilted her head to the side, her mouth forming an 'o'

"I've got a hunch"

"Eh…okay…I will" she grinned "Why do you need it anyway?"

"Oh er…I'm doing something for Hisoka's birthday…it's a secret" he took his finger to his lips

"Okay, I'll be glad to help!"

* * *

Ren returned to his office 

It was as empty as…eh…his stomach

Yeah, his stomach

He pouted

He'd have to get something to eat…he should leave his shopping bags on his desk before going to the cafeteria…just in case

He was placing the shopping bags on its place when something jumped on his desk

Ren would have clung to the roof if he were a cat…but he wasn't…so he didn't

Ralphie waved his arms in front of his owner, wanting to be seen

"Oh…hey Ralphie"

Ralphie motioned to his ear and whispered something that sounded as 'ee...eee e eeee eeee ee'

"Oh…_really_?"

"ee ee"

Ren smiled

* * *

Probably the longest chapter I've written so far 

Now I have to resume my big-ass monograph

D:

Meh

And its time for some shameless advertising!

I'll start a web comic in a couple of weeks :D

I might write two chapters next week, it depends on the amount of work I have to do

The monograph is due the day after tomorrow so…I don't think I'll have much work after that

((I might write two 'artist' chapters or the weekly chappy and a one-shot I've been planning to do

Tell me what would you prefer?))

::heart::

-Vivi


	9. Ch8: Five Years

**Artist**

**I had to reread earlier chapters…**

**Shame**

**And…**

**ZOMG IT'S ALREADY SUNDAY!**

**AND I LIKE HAVENT WRITTEN THE CHAPTER**

**BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

**D:**

**Laustic: sorry if I confused you! It made sense in my mind, I swear!**

Disclaimer: YnM doesn't belong to me. Period. I'm not Dr.Wayne W. Dyer nor have I written 'Your erroneous zones', which I quote in the first paragraph

_-to my shetha-chan…I doubt she reads this…ah we__lls…just in case xD-_

* * *

Chapter eight: Five Years 

'_With death so endless a proposition and life so breathtakingly brief, ask yourself, "Should I avoid doing the things I really want to do?" "Should I live my life as others want me to?" "Are things important to accumulate?" "Is putting it off the way to live?"__. Chances are your answers can be summed up in a few words: Live…Be You…Enjoy…Love'_

"Love" Hisoka repeated, laying the self-help book on his bedside table.

He closed his eyes and sank in his bed

It had only taken him nine pages to come to a conclusion

He shouldn't wait

What if it was too late?

'Tomorrow…tomorrow will be the day" He softly smiled, closing his eyes, getting ready to sleep

Hoping he wouldn't dream about a red moon

* * *

"You have to be kidding" 

"Nope, sowwy, they just left"

"And didn't _anyone_ mind calling me for this…secret meeting you had?"

"I forgawt!" Mary Sue whined

Hisoka rolled his eyes

"Lookie: They called me and I told them that you were at the library but they told me that it was really urgent and could wait and they dragged me over to chief's office and then they quickly showed everyone the images of the butchered people and said that it was like before but this time it was worse and they were going to send us in the mission but then Tsusuki got all angry and said what if it was Muraki again and you would be in great danger and chief just wanted someone to go a.s.a.p. so he told them to hurry up before there was another murder and they would be staying in…erm…iforgotitsname Inn and then I asked what could we do if we didn't have an assignment and they told me that we wouldn't be doing the fieldwork just yet but we would help them temporarily from here and-"

"Breathe, girl, breathe"

"Hisoka...what happened the 'last time'?"

"Remember when you saved us?"

Mary Sue nodded

"This guy…Muraki…he murdered employees in a hotel and then stole their souls god-knows-why…I suppose that more people are being murdered right now, right?"

"Uhuh…'twas horrible! They were like…butchered! And…and…gross" Mary Sue grimaced

Hisoka patted her

She was really like Tsusuki

"Heey…Hisoka…we never celebrated our one day partnership anniversary! Saay, would you like to have dinner at my place tonight? I don't cook_ that_ bad, I promise!"

"Uh…sure"

Mary Sue smiled and waved, walking away

Hisoka sighed

* * *

The workday had ended 

Mary Sue literally dragged her partner from their office all the way to her living room

She didn't care the glares she received, hell, she didn't

Hisoka did

He just blushed

He was glad not to feel any emotion that wasn't his…or else he would have fainted long ago

However, the moment he went through the door to get into Mary Sue's living room he did feel like fainting...and/or throwing up...

Sweet fruity aromas filled every damn corner of that damn living room

It took him all his strength not to run straight to the bathroom, but to walk like a civilized person, having taken off his jacket first

He felt as if he was in a really hot oven

And the sweetness of the smells didn't make him feel much better

It took him a good ten minutes to stop puking his guts out

Meanwhile, Mary Sue was neatly folding his jacket when she found the wallet Ren had asked her to search

He _did_ have a picture of Tsusuki…how convenient

Mary Sue's eyes narrowed a bit

'And why doesn't he have a picture of mee?'

She pouted

'Ah wells…he will have one very soon'

She turned on her computer, scanned the photo and slipped it back in its place

She even had enough time to send it to Ren and turn off her computer.

By the time Hisoka was out of the bathroom Mary Sue had gotten tired of waiting and was watching tv

Poor Hisoka's skin was colorless

He announced he wasn't feeling so well (duh) and he'd better leave

Mary Sue was really interested in Disney channel, so she just waved him goodbye

* * *

Ren and Tsusuki had arrived long ago at the Meadow Inn 

As the name suggested, the inn was located in a vast meadow

They had done a bit of research, asked the usual questions, visited the crime scene and discovered absolutely nothing

If it wasn't for the fact that all the victims were laying on a pentagram traced with chalk, their limbs were outstretched, and candle wax marks were foudn near their bodies, the shinigami would have never imagined that their death had not been natural

Of course, the fact that their souls were missing made the conclusion pretty clear

Muraki was getting better at covering his traces

They didn't even know for sure if it was Muraki.

Because...Muraki liked bloodshed and...the crime scenec were preety bloodless

* * *

Ren waited until Tsusuki decided he was hungry to check his mail 

And just as he predicted, Mary Sue's mail sat on top of his inbox

He opened it, took out some paper and a pencil, and waited for the image to load

Five years had he waited

Five.Years

* * *

Kay, this was another weird chapter 

The last one...I hope

I apologize for the weirdness, I'm not feeling exactly well

I'm feeling just like Hisoka felt in Mary Sue's apartment

Hmms…Artist's taking longer than I thought

Expect four more chapters

Or three

I dunno

Pfft…this was _the_ boring chapter

Psst: I wrote more than 1k of ::asteriskasteriskasteriskasterisk:: in an hour o.o

And now

Its time for the shameless advertising!

:D

http colon slash slash pentagrampendant dot smackjeeves dot com

webcomic :D

Feel free to tell me how much I suck for advertising like that/posting poor quality art in the net


	10. Ch9: Lies

**Artist**

**OMG VIV IS SUFFERING FROM WRITER'S BLOCK!**

**Now she only wants to write about love, flowers, happiness, flowers, love, peace**

**GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH**

**::throws water at her own face::**

…**I dunno if I will love or hate to write this chappie**

**Laustic: ****fanks nn**

**Hnns…I might be finishing artist the next week**

**Remem****ber I said it would be 11 chapters long? It will…unless I decide to make it a bit longer**

**Disclaimer: YnM doesn't belong to me, the same applies to the songs 'Umbrella' and 'Tú' which are by Rihanna and Noelia respectively**

**I shall do a songfic with the latter's song…just lemme finish 'Artist'…**

_-this chapter is dedicated to YOU!::heart::-_

* * *

Chapter nine: Lies

"Ren…we have some bad news…Your wife and girl have been found dead in their apartment, their souls are in Meifu but…I just though we should let you know…Ren? Ren answer me? Hello? Any-"

The phone was slammed down

---------------------

"Under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh under my um-ber-ella ella ella eh eh eh" Mary Sue sang around the office

"Would you SHUT UP?!"

Hisoka had lost his temper

"En mi mente estás como una visión que se siente dulce, tierna, y natura-al"

She poked him

Hisoka blinked

"I said: You're in my mind in the form of a vision which feels sweet, tender, and natura-al"

"You know Spanish?"

"MAIS-OUI!"

"And French"

"Ja"

"And what about English?"

"DUH?!

"Then…what part of 'Do your damn paperwork' don't you understand?"

Mary Sue pouted

Hisoka missed his old partner

Especially when Mary Sue flirted with him

She was pretty, yah, whatever, but he felt sick whenever she did

And her emotions…guhh…

Ralphie began singing a random song in a weird language (consisting purely of 'eeee's ) with Mary Sue

Hisoka knew he had earplugs somewhere…

After a minute or so of frenzied searching for earplugs in the first drawer, he gave up

Those definitely didn't want to be found

Therefore he only had one alternative

Leaving, of course.

* * *

Ren and Tsusuki had been away for five months

Mary Sue and Hisoka received a weekly digest of their activities at the hotel, the killer had stopped murdering people about a month ago, the shinigami at the Inn were still in the look out for clues

Just after they arrived, the murderer had killed twelve more people who weren't registered at the hotel but lived nearby

Their corpses had been placed in such a way that they made an almost perfect replica of the Last Supper, complete with a cardboard table prop

From that point on, the rest of the victims were dressed/positioned as in famous paintings by famous Renaissance artists

But now, the slaughtering of innocent people had stopped

They hoped it had

It had stopped about the time when Ren found out that Tsusuki had replied none of Hisoka's letters

It had stopped about the time when Ren had started trying to convince Tsusuki to go back

And said Shinigami didn't want to

Somewhy he didn't

But it all changed…when the letters stopped arriving

That's when Tsusuki literally dragged Mr. Ren to Meifu

Anyway, quoth the Ren "There are no more murders"

* * *

After five months of constant harassment from Mary Sue, Hisoka was more than relieved to see his friend again

…Friend?

…Just…friend?

…No…he was going to tell him but he left, he was going to write to him about it but he didn't have the courage to, especially since he never wrote back

So what was the first thing he did when he saw his partner again?

He pounced on him

…He could feel his emotions though his empathy

Astonishment

Concern

Sadness

Happiness

Love

Longing

…Love?

...Intrigue?

…Desperation?

…Hopefulness?

"Hello Mary Sue" Tsusuki wriggled out of Hisoka's very OOC embrace and offered his hand to Mary Sue, who shook it anxiously. She hugged Ren who was standing (as of the last minute) right next to Tsusuki

"Welcome back guys!" She pulled Hisoka by her side "He's gonna be a dad!"

Hisoka froze

"WHAT?! But…but"

Ugghhh…he was gaping like a fish again

Just like that time when Tsusuki had kissed him

Speaking about…since when was Mary Sue pregnant?

He hadn't noticed that detail since…since the very minute when she announced blasphemy!

…whore…

Hisoka turned his horrified face to look at Tsusuki

His partner's face was expressionless for a while

"Wow…congratulations guys…"

Ren patted him, whispering "Sorry…"

The older shinigami nodded "I'll be downstairs"

"Damn…"

"Soka-"

"Don't touch me" he ran from Mary Sue and Ren, ran from the bickering Tatsumi and Watari, ran after his walking partner

As he ran his epic race he tried to pick emotions from Tsusuki

Nothing

An empty void even emptier than Muraki's heart

Assuming he had one, of course

"TSUUU-" Hisoka wasn't able to stop in time and knocked Tsusuki off his feet

"Listen: That kid isn't mine, i havent even slept with that woman, for God's sake! You have to trust me!"

"Ugh…stop it already! Whatever you did with her is no business of mine" Hisoka couldn't believe that Tsusuki didn't believe him "I had my chance, not anymore. Now if you will excuse me, I was heading outside."

'What...' Hisoka stared at him as he walked away '…why?'

* * *

Upstairs Ren and Mary Sue watched the scene

The girl's normally cheerful face was twisted into a smirk

"Tu as fait très fort…je te remercie…beaucoup" _(You've done very well… thank you…a lot)_

Mary Sue sighed "Ne t'en fais pas…c'était mon plaisir"_ (Don't worry, it was my pleasure)_

Ren laughed softly "Ma chérie: c'est le mien" _(Darling: it's mine)_

He pulled a match from his pocket, tore off a page from his sketchbook and set it on fire

The fire mirrored on Mary Sue's eyes, she panted letting out a blood curling scream, right from the bottom of her non existent heart

("NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo")

* * *

**Am I loosing my touch?**

**D:**

**Damn writer&artist block**

**Sorry for the random languages, she's supposed to be a Mary Sue but I really haven't given her all the needed traits…I couldn't bear with the guilt of creating a real Mary Sue**

**-Vivi**


	11. Ch10: Insomnia

**Artist**

**This is another Sunday e'en chapter, yaaaaay!**

**Laustic: I shall explain later on**

_-this chapter is dedicated to YOU!::heart::-_

* * *

Chapter ten: Insomnia

**((Psst: read line by line and be careful not to loo****k at later paragraphs.))**

_Red moon_

_S__mells like blood_

_Blossom rain_

_He's hurt_

_He's chasing me_

_He needs help_

_He's gonna get me_

_I have to help him_

_I have to run_

_I have to tell someone_

_I have to keep it to myself_

_I can't keep it to myself_

_I need help_

_He needs help_

_I'm going to die tonight_

_He's going to die tonight_

_Please don't.._

_Don't die__/hurt me/die/hurt me/die/hurt me/die/die/die…_

_I have to…escape_

_He…he needs me_

Hisoka woke up, panting

"He needs me"

Absent-mindedly, the teen wrapped a coat around his pyjama-ed self

He was still too immerged in his nightmare to actually notice his actions, until he bumped into someone

Or rather, someone bumped into him

"Bon…whatever you are doing here so late?"

"Huh?"

"Its 2:00 am, you're at the office, why?"

Hisoka stared at Watari

"I dunno"

The two of them stayed silent for a while

"I haven't been taking them"

It was Watari's turn to look confused

"I had a dream"

"Bon…you haven't been taking _what_?"

"Those pills you gave me for controlling my empathy…that's not important right now…someone needs help!" Hisoka clutched his hair in a very OOC desperation

"Bon, _who _needs help?"

"I…uh…Tsusuki!"

"Tsusuki?"

"Yeah…it makes sense! I'm really worried about him and it has to be him the one that needs help!"

"Me?"

Tsusuki had apparently been listening to the conversation

"I'm alright, there's no need to worry about me"

Watari frowned a bit "Bon…I think you shouldn't take any more medication that can alter your empathy in any way"

"I think he should resume with the treatment…and go back to sleep, you'll need the strength to work tomorrow!" Tsusuki ruffled Hisoka's hair, waved good-bye at Watari, left

Being now awake, Hisoka noticed the bags under the scientist's eyes

"Are you okay?"

"Me…uh…yeah, I'm fine"

* * *

"Who are you?"

Soft laughter

"That doesn't matter, does it? Before you try anything against me, I should let you know that you can't leave…because if you do, I'll hurt your precious blonde"

Whoever was wearing a cloak dragged a green eyed teen to the captive's feet

Amethyst eyes widened

"How-?"

"Then again, that doesn't matter. Now listen…" He mercilessly threw the boy into a box of sorts "If you break those chains, this door will close. As you may see, it's an iron maiden, you won't be able to destroy it without causing harm to your little friend here and, just in case, it's got a special seal that will break only when his heart stops beating. Even if he doesn't die, these spikes look like a lot of pain, don't they?"

Tsusuki's heart sank

"Cheer up, emo kid! It's only going to be three days! You're free after those!"

"And what can we tell the co-workers to explain our absence? We were home under siege by hordes of angry scout girls armed by cookies?"

The man shook his head "Just tell them that you were taken away"

He opened a window, letting light shine in.

However, he stayed under the anonymity of the shadows

"Who are you?"

"Who cares"

"I care"

"You don't"

"I do"

"You mustn't"

"And what if I do?"

"I'll kill you"

"You won't"

"I will"

"You won't"

The man's black eyes shone as he suddenly appeared before Tsusuki, his hands on his throat

"You're getting me on my nerves, kid"

No…he couldn't…it would happen again

The last time he had lost consciousness

Her presence was still within him

Within his very soul

And whenever he had tried to kill someone

Her voice

He shouldn't have murdered her

He shouldn't have…

'REEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNN'

"SHUT UP!" The man dissolved into smoke, reappearing by the door, enveloped by darkness

* * *

**I've been ****looking forward for the following chappies for so long**

**:3**

**I know this one was a short one**

**I really didn't want to move much on the story since I'll be updating these weekdays (yay vacations)**

…**the story's almost over, tho**

**Would you like to tell me how much I suck/rule?**

**Reev-ee-oo!**

**-Vivi**


	12. Ch11: Void

**Artist**

**Omigosh**

**Chapter 11 already**

**-sniffle-**

**My baby's grown so quickly**

**Hmms…**

**Pfft…this/and the ones to follow are the chapters I've ****been waiting for/trying to avoid**

* * *

Chapter eleven: Void 

Mary Sue was gone

Ren explained that she had sacrificed herself to a merciless beast that was threatening to raid Kyoto

Hisoka was more than happy about her death

Still, there was something suspicious about the way in which Ren said it

From the very beginning, he had thought that those two had been very close, almost like parent and child

"Parent and child…"

But he could sense happiness as he told them the story

Anxiety

No grief

No despair

No remorse

No impotence

No...sorrow

And the way in which his defiant empty black eyes stared at him

As if saying 'You think I'm lying? Prove it'

Hisoka shivered

"Um…excuse me…I need to use the bathroom"

"S'okay if you want to cry, we all know how close you were to Mary Sue" Ren softly patted his back

The older man was leaning in

"It won't be the same"

Hisoka could feel _his_ breath on his skin

"Ren! What the hell are you doing?"

It wasn't Tsusuki

It was then when Hisoka knew that he was right

Ren just shrugged and resumed explaining how did Mary Sue die in a fire

Fire hmm?

Hisoka ran from the office, straight into Watari's lab

He knew the scientist had matches…somewhere

* * *

"The Shinigami community has lost more than a friend, it has lost Mary Sue. Mary Sue was the most talented, most loved, most…" 

"Ren murdered Mary Sue, not that I'm in grief about it (Thanks Ren!) and you" Hisoka pointed at Ren "Are not Ren!"

Ren laughed softly

"Whatever, kid! We're supposed to be mourning, not telling_ absurd_ jokes"

He blushed a bit "I…I can prove it" and with that he set Ren on fire

…He tried to

The man's clothing just didn't catch fire

Nor his skin

Nor hair

Nor…nothing

"That's what you call 'proof', kid? It's just the healing Shinigami powers"

"Aren't those supposed to…_heal_? They don't prevent one from getting injured" Tatsumi narrowed his eyes

"Aw guys! Don't be ridiculous" Tsusuki shook his head

Tatsumi and Watari exchanged looks

The scientist pointed at himself "I'm myself by the way…"

* * *

Ren grunted 

His void-black eyes were wide open in shock, disbelief, anger, despair

* * *

"So you're saying that these are clones?" 

The secretary finished tying up his co-workers

"I mean…I'm not sure about Watari…he's been acting a bit weird lately but…are you sure he's a clone as well?"

"Yes but…I believe that's called jealousy…untie him?"

Hisoka resumed poking Ren with a stick

"Where are them?"

"Who?"

"Ren and Tsusuki"

"I'm Ren, dammit!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes for the zillionth time

"Look what I found in his bag"

Tatsumi held a sheet of paper and a lighter

He handed those to Hisoka

Someone had sketched Ren in every angle possible.

There were some speech bubbles and illegible scribbles on the sides of the paper..it looked like French, but Hisoka wasn't sure

He stared at it intrigued

Ren noticed Hisoka held the drawing way too close to the lighter

"Oi! Kid! Be careful with that!"

"You mean…this?" he shoved the sketch in front of his face

Ren nodded nervously

"Why does it matter so much to you?"

"Because…because I don't want to die" Ren sighed, as if it was difficult for him to talk "If you do anything to that paper and anything written there is damaged…I will lose something…If you tear it in half that will happen to me, if the ink is washed away by water I will melt, if the paper is burnt…It wasn't me who killed Mary Sue…"

**

* * *

**

**Hisoka's so intelligent**

**He deserves a cookie**

**As for me…I deserve pixel tomatoes, right?**

**::hands everyone pixel tomatoes::hides::**

**-Viv**

**ps: vacations are over D:**

**ps2: 72 days ago I posted the first Artist chapter**


	13. Ch12: Stockholm syndrome

**Artist**

**I'm so sorry about the late-ness**

**It's been a tough couple of weeks for me**

**I'm finishing the two open stories and then writing a prologue for the next one and then…I'll probably take a quick break**

**Even if we just started school, they are going rough on us**

**Meh**

**I actually missed writing…**

**It took me a while to tie up everything in my mind...yet another excuse for my lateness**

**-****Warning! Big ass rant lies ahead!-**

Remember I said the rest of the chapters wouldn't be as confusing and vague? I lied……Yah…I'm reading my old chapters to do this rant….I'm such a l00ser

Pfft…I hope I don't forget any painfully important detail that I may have skipped in the fic…Like the fact that Mary Sue was pregnant…I was going to write it at the beginning but forgot! Then again, I sucked at trying to write a version of Hisoka that was in love with Ms. Soo…gaaah…I PHAIL

I'll have to rewrite in a couple, years' time…I miss my br-tag-ing whore days…

Seems I'll finally explain the mystery of Chapter four (and ten)…

…

"**...uuugghhh…my poor characterization is evolving into even poorer characterization! D:"**

The true-est thing I've ever said/written

OMIGOSH! I just came up with a way to write some angst in this chappie…YAY!

:D

_**--Dedicated to **__**my dear readers and reviewer (insert heart here)—**_

_**((note: my English sucks…yay!))**_

* * *

Chapter twelve: Stockholm syndrome

"_You're not my Hisoka"_

_Nothingness_

_Silence_

_Silence_

"_Huh?"_

_Silence_

"_I said you're not my Hisoka"_

_Silence_

"_Why's that?"_

_Silence_

_Silence_

"_Cause he would have done something by now"_

-He needs us-

-He needs me-

"I think we've found him"

All heads turned to Watari

"Remember that time when we gave him the _special muffin_? Well…guess what did your favourite scientist put into it?" Watari grinned

-He wants us-

-He wants me-

"Where is him?"

Watari showed them the screen, a tiny dot flashing on its midst

"We should get going"

* * *

"We should split up"

"It's never a good idea" Hisoka rolled his eyes

"I'd rather find him as soon as possible…I'm not so comfortable with this freak around"

"Okay, Hisoka can look down there" He pointed at the companionway "And Watari and myself will search the cabins up here"

This was all fair to Hisoka until he realized there were actually three lower decks.

Searching through the decks for an evil black haired man wasn't as easy as it would have initially sounded, the pressure and feeling of guilt were immensely distracting

He was beginning to lose all hope when someone grabbed him and pushed him against the wall.

"Ren?"

Soft giggling

"That's right, Hisoka-chan!"

Silence

"You aren't going to beg me to let you go right? Aw meh…I was sooo looking forward to it"

Hisoka rolled his eyes

"Aw common! Just a little cry for mercy?" Ren shook him "…Please?"

Hisoka didn't even know why wasn't he frightened.

He just…wasn't

Normally he would have been struggling for freedom but…

He was just so entranced in analyzing the emotions he could pick

Not the wannabe-cruel emotions let off by Ren, no

These emotions were so pure

So…profound

Akin to fear, akin to longing

Waiting

"Uhm…kid…are you alright?"

* * *

He was being dragged to what he supposed was the orlop, the feelings he could pick were becoming stronger.

"Aren't you going to ask why the hell did I kidnap your boyfriend?"

"Hmm?"

"You know…it would have been so easy…but mom had to have the sudden revelation that her dear child was about to strike…I thought she had forgotten the incident…Seems she didn't…seems she regretted what she did to us…she had to be silenced"

Hisoka had gained a bit of interest in his story

"Yes, she should be sorry. My sister was supposed to have died in her womb, but no, she didn't want it to be that way. Mom made a deal with this demon…but it backfired and she didn't want to give her soul, so she sold ours…"Ren's voice acquired a bitter tone "But it wasn't over…he came back, took us, even made her forget she had had once children…and then he raised us…and he took care of us…and people from your kind murdered him"

Ren began softly giggling

"So that's why I'm doing _this_…What is this you ask? I'm kidnapping all of you, Shinigami, and replacing you with my artsy creations! In two more days I should have replaced all of you…then I'll be able to destroy all that you've built and set my fellows free"

He was having problems containing his laughter

"Until you captured Ren…I had been hoping of doing the whole thing myself, even if I didn't know how to…but when he came back to us…and I noticed the little ability of his…it would be just…perfect. So I disposed of my former host body because…I didn't need her anymore, did I? Goodbye Maeko!"

"You got rid of the little girl as well? You make me sick"

"Hey, don't judge me! It was all nice and dandy and then the little brat appeared just as I was cleaning the woman's blood! And she started screaming like hell…" Ren sighed "Anyway, at this point I was starting to take possession of Ren's body…Ever wondered why did I try to suffocate you?...So have I….truth be told, I was still struggling with Ren's soul…too bad his will wasn't_ that_ strong" He made a pause "So now I had you at hand's reach, still I had to wait five years to scheme. Nothing could go wrong. It was fairly easy to distract my lovesick co-workers…but you…you were different. I must admit I feared your empathy…but then I found out about the pills you were taking…I swear I heard the angels singing, then!" his eyes were filled with starts as he recalled his moments of glory "But this partner of yours…uugghhh"

Hisoka chucked

"Luckily, Ralphie was on my side…I was his creator anyway, he_ had _to be on my side. So he told me all about him and his fondness for a certain co-worker of his…" To avoid any confusion, he added "You! Duh!...That's why I created Mary Sue. She was like the daughter I never had…nah…just joking. It took me a couple of months to get the adequate proportions and angles and to come up with some catchphrases and other things she might say. She didn't know anything about my plan. I created her to be naïve. And she loved you…just like Princess Tsubaki…she loved you didn't she? And you murdered her…just like you were the reason Mary Sue ended up dead"

Hisoka looked away "I…I didn't…it was you and just_ you_ all along"

"Hmm…true! I had asked her to get some pictures of Tsusuki, you know, for the Shinigami duplicates I was creating. He was the only one whose sketch I was missing…and since you've bothered to come all the way with your friends you've saved me the trouble to kidnap you one by one…well, thank you!"

Hisoka looked disturbed "May I ask why the hell did you think a pregnant Mary Sue would be a good idea?"

Ren shrugged "Since your letters were like…'I don't know what to do, that girl keeps on flirting with me!' I supposed that a pregnant Mary Sue could mean that you had given in" He shrugged again "It just seemed to be a good idea back then…did it work, diddit?"

Hisoka laughed softly "Yes it did Ren, yes it did. You're such a smart person"

Ren grinned "It's Reena…you may call me Ree"

"So you're a woman then?"

"Uhuh…well…kinda…My host body is male right now…I really preferred Maeko's" Reena rolled her eyes "Anyway, I'm taking you hostage now"

Shadows creeped slowly along the pathway, around Ren's neck, chocking him. Someone pulled Hisoka away from the place as Reena struggled with the darkness

"I can't believe he didn't hear us!"

"Then again, it's easy to get lost in Hisoka-chan's eyes"

"…Baka!"

* * *

**Just in case you didn't get the last bit, Ren/Reena was so busy describing his life's achievements at Hisoka that he didn't notice Tatsumi and Watari sneaking past, nor did she notice they were freeing Tsusuki, nor did she notice that they were behind her, ready to attack.**

**I dunno, I could have made this fic better**

**Before I was PWNED by the artist block, I used to write according to the charry's moods**

**Pfft…I phail**

**Sorry to the TToaS readers, the next chapter will be written when I finish my history essay**

**So uhm…TADA!::grin::**

**Thanks for reading all the way up to here!**

**-Vivi**

**ps: want a sequel involving Reena's sister Deena? I'm willing to write if someone wants it...**

**ps2: Stockholm syndrome made reference to the fact that Reena and Deena were taken away from their mother but were really close to their abductor. **


End file.
